By Felicia Hudson
As a former CUES marketing specialist, I've had the pleasure of interviewing many CUES members. I'm always impressed not only by the passion they have for the movement, but the resourcefulness they demonstrate as leaders. That's why I'm stumped. Why, when so many consumers are disillusioned with banks, aren't more credit unions taking advantage of the opportunities available to woo these potential customers?
Banks are investing in analytics to get to know their potential customers AND your credit union members. What are credit unions doing to differentiate themselves and stand out as the obvious choice to consumers and members?
I recently listened to a CUES Webinar, "The Credit Union Competitive Advantage," by Ken Wanek, CFP, CEO of Datatrac, Milwaukee. He made several compelling points:
- Credit union deposits are up by 14 percent in the last 18 months and experiencing a 1.5 percent growth rate.
- Overall, credit unions have too few loans, and too many deposits.
- Making quality loans is key to credit unions' success.
- Some banks have vacated consumer lending markets.
- Credit unions have a distinct competitive advantage. Now's the time to build market share.
If you're not familiar with Datatrac, it maintains a real-time database of fees and loan rates for more than 90,000 banks, credit unions and branches nationwide. The company has served the financial services industry for more than 20 years and has more than 10,000 subscribers—and its data is backed by a 100 percent guarantee.
What does all this mean to you? With the help of Datatrac's compelling third-party data, you can show that your credit union offers the lowest rates on mortgage, home equity and auto loans—proving to consumers there's no need to shop around. You'll have an analytical edge that comes from using guaranteed competitive data.
I'm sure about now I'm beginning to sound like a live billboard. And, for full disclosure, I should point out that I acquired all this knowledge while working on a free-lance project for CUES and Datatrac. I was just so intrigued that I wondered why more credit unions weren't taking advantage. As a journalist, it's my passion to share good information when I stumble upon it. So now you know.
Don't take my word for it, though. Read the case study of $7 billion Alliant Credit Union, based here in my home state of Illinois. Using data from Datatrac, Alliant CU generated $22.7 million in funded loans with an ROI of 557 percent in three months.
Are you focusing on loans now that the economy is turning? What strategies are you using?
Felicia Hudson is a former CUES marketing specialist, fan of credit unions and owner of Hudson Creative Copy, Chicago.
